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mmm 7C BUSINESaUte C)arl«ttt Thursday, January 5, 2006 Arena staff looks for customers’ satisfaction Continued from page 8C Tlie WOW program strives to teach employees to deliver stellar cxistomer service, resolve any customer service issues quiddy, and keep team members in constant commu nication. “The key to success for effective guest servi(» is con sistency,” said Hendricks. In order to be consistent, employees need to live the culture of the oi^anization, embrace the fact that guests are our number one priority, and have a positive outlook. We hope that our WOW guest service pro gram will help our employees incorporate that philoso phy in their everyday work.” “Charlotte Bobcats m^jor- Johnson ity owner Bob Johnson challenged us to cre ate an emotionally engaging ecperience at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, and we are doing that from top to bot tom,” said Barry Silberman, chief operating officer of the arena. Approximately 500 part- time event employees were hired throu^ a job fair in June. They were required to attend 10 hours of training including an orientation ses sion, WOW customer service training and job-specific training before the arena’s grand opener of the Rolling Stone concert. The program also allows for public and monetary recogni tion of employees who exem plify the WOW philosophy and ddiver exceptional guest service. “Last week we had a holi day party for the event staff to say thank you for what you do for us, said Hendricks. We also now have to invest in them, to show them that we care about them. It’s not just you pouring into us, but we have to pour back into them as well. I have to also show them that I care about them, not just professionally but also personally” “The WOW philosophy will help assure the delivery of exceptional customer service- service that will exceed the guest’s expectations,” said Silberman. Thomas Tillman has cer tainly demonstrated that kind of customer service and exceeded the guests’ and Hendricks’ expectations. On Tillman’s day off, he returned a fan’s lost items to them to prevent them fiom going to the lost and found center in the arena. Hendricks admits there are more superstars who exem plify the WOW philosophy like Tilliuan. She attributes that to the hiring and train ing process. “We looked for a very specif ic kind of individuals tluuughout tlie hiring pixx»ss. Tlie most important factor in liiring our staff was to make sure tliey had a smile on tliefr face and a fiiendly welcoming disposi tion. The rest of it you can teach,” said Hendricks. Basketball league’s troubles shutters Ist-year team Continued from page 8C a $250,000 to $300,000 opera- tion. “But I think those guys with those other teams underestimated what it would take and, ultimately couldn’t afford to make some road trips and things like that. That just wound up killing us. It wets a domino effect.” Hughes said that when opposing teams began cancel ing games scheduled against the Knink in Charlotte - which happened on Dec. 20, 27 and 29 — his organization still was responsible for pay ing Cricket Arena for use of the facility on those days. And although the Krunk has suspended operations, Hughes said he still is responsible for paying $66,000 for the remaining 12 home games. In lieu of games, he said he might try to have some additional con certs at the arena. At the team’s first home game, he brought in hip-hop star Mike Jones. “But it’s just too over whelming financially to try to keep the basketball going this season,” Hughes said. “Cricket Arena had concerns about the viability of the league fiom the start. And now that I look back on it myself, there were some warning signs.” Joe Newman, Chief Executive Officer of the ABA, did not return phone mes sages left at the league’s Indieuiapolis headquarters. Is the Krunk gone fium the Queen City for good? Despite all he’s been throu^, financially and oth- CT'wise, Hughes manages to maintain some optimism. “Either I’m a sentimental fool or stubborn or both,” Hughes said with a laug^ ‘1 know tliat the heritage in Carolina basketball is a rich one, and I know an ABA team in Charlotte can work. “I’ll definitely be discussing some possibilities in the ftitui'e.” Chevron fights allegations of rights, environmental abuses Continued from page 8C around the world. Critics claim such abuses are increasing as the global scarcity of petroleum drives oil companies into countries with rich reserves but poor protections for htiman ri^ts and the environment. “It’s the resource curse,” said Steve Kretzmann, exec utive director of Oil Change International. “Unfortunately, the rule aroimd the world is that where you have oil extrac tion, you see increasing rates of poverty, human rights abuses and environmental destruction” In Ecuador, the plaintiffs estimate it will cost $6 billion to dean up 18.5 biUion gal lons of oily wastewat«* that Tfexaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, dumped into more than 600 unlined pits and streams between 1972 and 1990. Chevron is also fighting lawsuits filed in San Francisco by Nigerian vil lagers who claim the compa ny’s subsidiary supported military attacks on protesters in the oil-rich Niger Ddta. A federal lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial nect fall, and a trial for a state dass-action lawsuit is set to start in 2007. Chevron lawyers deny the plaintiffs’ claims in both Chevron and Ecuador and believe they will prevail in court. Company officials say Chevron has a long record of protecting human rights and the environment, pointing to its annual reports that detail goals and accomplishments in areas such as CTivironmen- tal management, human ri^ts, AIDS, climate change, energy effidaicy health and safety “Wherever we operate, we strive to be a good example through our employment polides, our support for uni versal human ri^ts as well as obeying domestic and host country laws,” said Maria Pica, Chevron’s corporate responsibility manager. Investors don’t appear to be worried. Like the rest of the oil industry. Chevron has reported robust profits fium soaring worldwide demand. Fadel Gheit, a smior ener gy analyst at Oppenheimo* & Co., believes the company will likely win both cases, and if they are forced to compen sate victims, the payments won’t be big enoug^i to affect the bottom line. “It’s nothing but back ground noise,” Gheit said. But critics say the compa ny’s troubles in Nigeria and Ecuador are part of a deeper problem. “Both ultimately arise out of the corporation’s disregard for basic human rights and environment sd protection, ” said Marco Simons, legal director of EarthEights International. ‘It is part of a pattern that’s pervasive in the oil industry” Simons and other industry critics say the extraction of oil doesn’t create many jobs or distribute wealth but props up repressive r^imes, lead ing to widespread social unrest and ecological damage in oil-rich regions. Chevron is hardly the only petroleum company fighting lawsuits alleging abuse. Talisman Energy Inc., for example, is being sued in U.S. courts by Sudanese vil lagers who allege the Canadian oil company pro vided money, vehicles and logistics to Sudanese soldia:s who sou^t to dqxjpulate 142 villages near oil fidds fix>m 1999 to 2002. Company lawyers have denied the alle gations. As abuse reports have risen, so has the ability of vic tims to hold corporations accountable. Thanks to the Internet and an increasingly global network of activists, victims are drawing more attention to their pli^t, and more lawyers are taking on In an undisclosed settle ment in 2005, El Segundo- based Unocal agreed to com pensate 15 Myanmar vil lagers who held the company liable for forced labor, murder and rape allegedly carried out by govOTiment soldiers dur ing construction of the $1.2 billion Yadana pipeline. Chevron, which acquired Unocal in August, now faces criticism for doing business in the Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma, where the U.S. government has banned new investment due to humam rights con- cmis. “Our position is that no one should be investing in Burma ri^t now,” said EarthRi^ts’ Simons. “It’s impossible to do business in Burma without being complidt in serious human ri^ts abuses.” Chevron officials would not comment on the Myanmar operations because the com pany is still evaluating its new assets, according to spokesman Jeff Moore. The Nigerian plaintiffs accuse Chevron’s subsidiairy of supporting attacks by Nigerian soldiers that destroyed homes and Idlled or injured dozens of people. A federal judge ruled in 2004 that Chevron could be held responsible if Chevron N^ria was involved The lawsuits, which seek unspecified damages, claim the subsidiary provided hdi- copters, boats and planes to Nigerian scJdiers who fired at demonstrators in 1998 on an offshore oil platform and in 1999 at two villages where protesters lived. “Chevron used the Nigerian military as their security force and that resulted in gross human rights viola tions,” said Cindy Cohn, an attorney for the plaintiffs. Chevron attorneys say the platform protesters were armed youths who demanded money took more than 200 workers hostage and were shot during a rescue attempt. The company also aigues the case belongs in African courts. “We don’t think it’s fair or appropriate for Nigerians to bring lawsuits in the United States where they’re chal lenging what the Nigerian government did to them in Nigeria,” said Chevron attor ney Bob NCttelstadt. The rainforest case spent a decade in U.S. courts before being transferred to Ecuador. The trial, which began two years ago, has proceeded slowly as the judge takes tes timony and inspects more than 120 alleged dump sites. Plaintiffs claim toxic chemi cals contaminated rivers, streams and soil in a region the size of Rhode Island, lead ing to unusually high rates of cancer, birth defects, skin dis eases and other health prob lems. They want the compa ny to pay for their medical care and a thorou^ cleanup. “This is rainforest Chernobyl,” said Leila Salazar-Lopez of San Francisco-based Amazon Watch. “Before Thxaco arrived, this was pristine Amazon rainforest where five indigenous tribes depended on a clean, healthy environ ment to survive. Now they’re basically living in a giant Superfund site.” Chevron has resisted calls for further remediation, say ing Itecaco already complied with a $40 million govern ment-ordered cleanup fix>m 1995 to 1998 and auditors foimd no lasting environmen tal impact “So far in the inspections the evidence clearly indicates the remediation was done properly and any residual there doesn’t pose a risk to human health,” said Chevron environmental scientist Sara McMillen. Samples met drinking water standards of Ecuador, the U.S. and the World Health Organization, she said. Tfexaco was only a minority partner in a joint venture with state-owned PetroEcuador, and was released fiom responsibility for any further remediation when the joint venture ended in 1992, said Ricardo Veiga, the Chevron attorney work ing on the Ecuador case. He blamed the environmental damage on PetroEcuador and on government policies that encouraged haphazard migration to the area. “We cannot be blamed for the lack of infrastructure, education and sanitation,” Veiga said. “We are sympa thetic to the people that live in the area, but we don’t think it’s accurate or fair to accuse us of creating this sit uation.” But Amazon natives like Piaguqje don’t buy Chevron’s arguments. “We’re bringing this case because we do not want to continue living in the disaster left by Chevron,” Piaguqje said. “We want this case to be a lesson to the world that companies can act better.” On the Net: Chevron wmv/'hevron/'om Clean Up Ecuador Catnpai^n wwwxhevrontoxicojcom lujrthRights International wwwx'arthrights/)rg South Carolina rings in the new year hy discarding minibottles Continued from page 8C Sports Bar & Grill in Columbia. The staff was fi^ pouring while guests were still kissing, hugging and toasting over champagne early Sunday While the new liquor law took effect just after mid night, a calendar quirk wouldn’t let many bars in the state take advantage. Sunday alcohol sales are banned in most of South Carolina outside of the Columhda area and the coast, meaning last call at most bars had to come before 2005’s end. Point your mouse onto the latest news. www.thecharlottepost.com -Say Yes To Success! “Dr. Arrington shows home-based business owners how to add 20-30 people per week, week in and week out without fail, to their businesses. Dr. Carl Arrington, Dire.ctor of Market Expansion What Will The Future Bring? As we come into a new year, many of us see it as an opportunity to start all over again. There were some'dreams we had for ourselves in 2005, but for various reasons, we may not have reached those goals. Some people in looking back over their failure of achieving their dreams will have many explanations for the lack of achieving their dreams. Some will say that others stood in their way and actually actively opposed their success. This could be true. Others may say that they did not have the resources they ne^ed to finance their dreams. This could also be true. Others may point out that their friends and family did not provide them the support they needed. This, too could be true. Indeed, any of us could point to any number of circumstances and situations that we could say stood in the way of our success. However, regardless of what the situations may have been. ultimately it was left up to us to decide how we would respond to these obstacles. Regardless of the barriers we may encounter in life, it is always up to us to decide how we will respond to them. Our choice is where our power lies in determining our future. It will be no different in 2006. How fare we travel along the road to success ultimately depends on us and our attitude to all that we encounter. What the future will bring will be determined by our own choices. When everything else is taken away from us, there is always one freedom that remains. That one freedom is your ability to choose your own future. What will the future bring for you in 2006? You decide! You have the power. WANT TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE? Contact Dr. Arrington for details 704-591-1988 • cH(t. maximuimuccess.com Maximum TotentiaL Inc... /Tapping into tfie 'Power of you! Namc_ Oty INFORMATION REQUEST FOR MORE DETAILS * f.\X: 7(>4-56»-j497 Street Address State ZipCode Home Phone E-mail _ __Wori( Phone_ Don’t Delay, Call Today!
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